These men can't forget Nicklaus and spirit of '86

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, April 3, 2011

Photo: Phil Sandlin, Associated Press

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FILE--Jack Nicklaus takes pleasure in watching his putt drop for a birdie on the 17th hole at Augusta National Golf Course on April 13, 1986. The shot gave him the lead and ultimately, his sixth Masters title. Forty-six years old, winner of only two tournaments the previous five years, he came to Augusta National with little hope of winning. Even after he shot a 69 in the third round, he wasn't among the leaders. But Nicklaus began one of the great charges in Masters history, capped off by an eagle-birdie-birdie-par streak on the final four holes. To this day, his one-shot victory over Greg Norman and Tom Kite might be the most memorable tournament in Augusta history, and it turned out to be the last victory for Nicklaus on the regular PGA Tour.(AP Photo/phil sandlin) less

FILE--Jack Nicklaus takes pleasure in watching his putt drop for a birdie on the 17th hole at Augusta National Golf Course on April 13, 1986. The shot gave him the lead and ultimately, his sixth Masters title. ... more

Photo: Phil Sandlin, Associated Press

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Photo: Dave Martin, Associated Press

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RECROPPED VERSION--Phil Mickelson celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament with a nine-under-par at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday, April 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

RECROPPED VERSION--Phil Mickelson celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament with a nine-under-par at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday, April 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Photo: Dave Martin, Associated Press

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AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 10: Tiger Woods and his caddie, Steve Williams, celebrate after Woods chipped in for birdie on the 16th hole during the final round of The Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2005 in Augusta, Georgia. less

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 10: Tiger Woods and his caddie, Steve Williams, celebrate after Woods chipped in for birdie on the 16th hole during the final round of The Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club on April ... more

Photo: Harry How, Getty Images

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14 Apr 1996 : Greg Norman of Australia collapses on the ground after narrowly missing his chip shot on the 15th green during the final tound of the 1996 US Masters Golf Championship at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Nick Faldo wenton to win the event from Greg Norman. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday/ALLSPORT less

14 Apr 1996 : Greg Norman of Australia collapses on the ground after narrowly missing his chip shot on the 15th green during the final tound of the 1996 US Masters Golf Championship at the Augusta National ... more

Photo: Stephen Munday, Getty Images

These men can't forget Nicklaus and spirit of '86

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To measure the magnitude of Jack Nicklaus' victory in the 1986 Masters, and truly understand how a 46-year-old crafted the single most memorable round in history, do not start with Nicklaus. Tap at the fringes of that epic April afternoon at Augusta National and listen to other people in golf.

Twenty-five years later, they all remember exactly where they were and exactly what they witnessed - with everlasting clarity.

Sandy Lyle was right there amid the roars. Nicklaus and Lyle played side-by-side in the 1:32 p.m. pairing, with four tandems behind them. They each began the day at 2-under-par, four shots behind Greg Norman.

Lyle called Nicklaus his "boyhood hero." They hadn't played together before, and now there they were in the final round of the Masters, on the edge of contention as they made the turn and headed toward Amen Corner.

Many moments linger with Lyle to this day, but one still echoes in his ears.

"The noise level when Jack made the eagle at 15 was deafening," Lyle said last week. "The vibrations were coming from all around, basically. You could almost hear the golf gods getting excited from above."

Lee Trevino was in the Atlanta airport, getting drunk and practically demanding a flight delay. Trevino shot 77 earlier in the day, finished his round before Nicklaus even teed off and then drove to Atlanta with his wife.

They had heard about Nicklaus' back-nine charge on the radio in the car. Then they rushed into the airport and found a bar and television across from their departure gate.

Trevino also remembered the oversize putter Nicklaus used in the '86 Masters. He put the MacGregor Response ZT in his bag only about a month earlier - but it became a magic wand as he surged down the stretch, sinking every important putt.

"That thing looked like a sailboat," Trevino said. "Hell, my first car wasn't that big. Jack could putt with it, too. He could putt with a broom."

Tiger Woods was at home in Cypress (Orange County) watching on television with his dad, Earl. Tiger was 10 at the time, already a prodigy-in-the-making but still 11 years away from his historic triumph at Augusta National.

Woods and his dad played golf on the morning of April 13, 1986, as they usually did before the final round of the Masters. Then they planted themselves on the couch, soon after Nicklaus began his back nine.

One snapshot stuck with Woods over the years - the classic image of Nicklaus exuberantly raising his putter as his go-ahead birdie putt tumbled into the hole on No. 17, punctuated by CBS broadcaster Verne Lundquist proclaiming, "Yes sir!"

"I just remember how the putter went up and how Jack basically walked it in," Woods said. "That was the first time I remember seeing someone walk in a putt like that."

Jackie Nicklaus was walking alongside his dad, wearing Augusta National's familiar white caddie jumpsuit, with No. 89 stitched in green on the left breast pocket. The younger Nicklaus had carried his father's bag in majors before, but not in the Masters.

Nice debut, eh?

Even as skeptics questioned whether Nicklaus could contend at Augusta National in 1986 - he hadn't won a major in nearly six years and hadn't finished higher than 39th in his first seven starts of the season - his son arrived with confidence in his old man.

"Every time I've watched my dad play, certainly up to the 1986 Masters, I knew he would win if he played well," Jackie said. "I don't know if others' expectations were that he could still win, but I certainly thought he could."

Nick Price was trailing Nicklaus by a few holes, playing alongside Norman in the day's final pairing. Price abruptly climbed into the hunt a day earlier, when he set a course record by tearing around Augusta National in 63 shots.

Price drifted back to reality with a final-round 71, to finish three strokes behind Nicklaus. Price had a firsthand view as Norman made an all-world birdie to tie Nicklaus (already in the clubhouse) on No. 17 - and then a bogey on No. 18 to miss his chance to force a playoff. (Tom Kite earlier missed a putt to match Nicklaus at 9-under.)

Now, 25 years later, Price remembers something else as vividly as all these shots.

"You just had roar after roar after roar," Price said of the noise emanating from the Nicklaus-Lyle pairing. "I remember seeing Sandy in the locker room afterward. I said, 'What was it like?' He couldn't describe it. He was just absolutely speechless."

Nicklaus won the Masters at age 46, shooting an electrifying 30 on the back nine to grab his 18th professional major by fending off a parade of great players (including Kite, Norman, Price, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson).

What more is there to say?

Golf roundup:Yani Tseng surges into the lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, an LPGA Tour major. B13

The 46 offense

Jack Nicklaus stood at even-par through eight holes in the final round of the 1986 Masters. Nicklaus, at age 46, then played the final 10 holes in 7-under-par. Here's a closer look at that scintillating stretch:

Honorable mention

Ben Crenshaw falling into arms of caddie after winning in wake of mentor's death (1995); Larry Mize dancing in exultation after making chip shot in playoff (1987); Roberto DeVicenzo, stunned expression on his face (captured in still photo), after learning of scorecard gaffe in 1968 ("What a stupid I am," he said.)

- Ron Kroichick

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